Consumerism

Consumerism has expanded to almost all areas of everyday life. From the time you wake up in the morning to check your email, to the time you watch the news right before you go to bed at night, you are being coerced into wanting to buy something, whether you realize it or not. Consumerism has become such an ugly, uncontrollable monster in American society today that sometimes we miss sight of what values are actually important. Even though our closets are full and our wallets are empty, we never stop wanting in order to keep up with the latest fashion trend or new gadgets that constantly come out.

One ugly affect of consumerism is the way we treat holidays in America. Every holiday is seen as a big sales event when they are really supposed to represent a certain value. Christmas, a holiday traditionally known for giving and spending time with family and friends, is now best known for buying, buying, and buying. We have to have the best decorations, trees, food, and presents. According to Forbes, the average American spends about $750 on Christmas. From mid-November to Christmas day, commercials advertising the best deals on their products can be seen on every channel.

Black Friday, commonly known as the busiest shopping day of the year, did not always be that big of a deal. In the 1960's and 70's, the term Black Friday represented the heavy amount of traffic from travelers coming home the day after Thanksgiving. As technology advanced, new methods of advertising emerged and the demand for material items increased creating what we know today as Black Friday. Retailers advertise "door busters" that will have people camped outside of the building until the opening on Black Friday sometimes causing them to miss Thanksgiving with their families. Consumers will go to great lengths to ensure that they get the item they want the most. In previous years, people have been trampled, shot, and even pepper sprayed just to get a toy, or X-Box. On this day...